National Treasures of Wales – Plas Newydd episode 2

National Treasures of Wales – Plas Newydd episode 2: In this programme, he visits Plas Newydd on the island of Anglesey in north west Wales, which the Trust acquired in the 1970s. Once it was the family home of the Marquis of Anglesey, and now property manager Nerys Jones has to think of new ways to attract visitors to this remote location.

Griff investigates how this great stately home is run – and how it survives in these financially straitened times. Griff Rhys Jones discovers how the National Trust, which was started in Wales, deals with the complexities and conflicts involved in looking after some of Wales’s best-loved national treasures.

National Treasures of Wales – Plas Newydd episode 2

Plas Newydd

Plas Newydd is a country house set in gardens, parkland and surrounding woodland on the north bank of the Menai Strait, in Llanddaniel Fab, near Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales. The current building has its origins in 1470, and evolved over the centuries to become one of Anglesey’s principal residences. Owned successively by Griffiths, Baylys and Pagets, it became the country seat of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and the core of a large agricultural estate. The house and grounds, with views over the strait and Snowdonia, are open to the public, having been owned by the National Trust since 1976.

The house is set within an outstanding park, landscaped at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The design included input from Humphry Repton, and his trademark Red Book of before and after landscape views is still extant. With its extensive waterside site, superb location, and views of the Menai Strait and Snowdonia, it is the only Anglesey site to be classed as Grade I in the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. It is within the Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is within an Environmentally sensitive area.

In January 2010, the grounds became the first part of North Wales to be included in Google Street View, thanks to a scheme to include National Trust properties by using the Google Trike where vehicular access is limited.

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to “promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest”. It was given statutory powers, starting with the National Trust Act 1907. Historically, the Trust acquired land by gift and sometimes by public subscription and appeal, but after World War II the loss of country houses resulted in many such properties being acquired either by gift from the former owners, or through the National Land Fund.

Country houses and estates still make up a significant part of its holdings, but it is also known for its protection of wild landscapes such as in the Lake District and Peak District. As well as the great estates of titled families, it has acquired smaller houses including some whose significance is not architectural but through their association with famous people, for example the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. One of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom, the Trust owns over 248,000 hectares (610,000 acres; 2,480 km2; 960 sq mi) of land and 780 miles of coast.

Its properties include over 500 historic houses, castles, archaeological and industrial monuments, gardens, parks and nature reserves. Most properties are open to the public for a charge (members have free entry), while open spaces are free to all.

National Trust Founders

The Trust was incorporated on 12 January 1895. The founders were social reformer Octavia Hill, solicitor Sir Robert Hunter and clergyman Hardwicke Rawnsley.

In 1876, Hill, together with her sister Miranda Hill had set up a society to “diffuse a love of beautiful things among our poor brethren”. Named after John Kyrle, the Kyrle Society campaigned for open spaces for the recreational use of urban dwellers, as well as having decorative, musical and literary branches. Hunter had been solicitor to the Commons Preservation Society, while Rawnsley had campaigned for the protection of the Lake District. The idea of a company with the power to acquire and hold buildings and land had been mooted by Hunter in 1894.

In July 1894 a provisional council, headed by Hill, Hunter, Rawnsley and the Duke of Westminster met at Grosvenor House and decided that the company should be named the National Trust for places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. Articles of association were submitted to the Board of Trade and on 12 July 1895 the Trust was registered under the Companies Act. Its purpose was to “promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest”.

National Trust Founders – Funding – National Treasures of Wales – Plas Newydd

For the year ended 28 February 2019, total income of the Trust was £634.3 million. The largest sources of income were membership subscriptions (£243.4 million), income from investments (£192.1 million), direct property income (£186.4 million), and legacies (£66.5 million). In addition, the Trust received money (£39.2 million), from its commercial arm, National Trust Enterprises Ltd, which undertakes profit-making activities such as running gift shops and restaurants at Trust properties. The Trust also received £17.6 million in grants, including £5.2 million from Natural England, £4.8 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and £2.6 million from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.